Study Methods that Work

From the contributors at In Socrates Wake

A Note to Students: These study methods are intended to help you master the material you
are covering in class. In philosophy, this means that you are seeking to understand
philosophical positions and the arguments on offer both for and against these positions. It also
means that you are learning various skills involved in the process of critical thinking. The
methods below can help you become more intellectually virtuous, which will help you not only
in your academic career and chosen profession, but will improve the rest of your life as well.
Some of these methods may work for you, and some may not. Try the ones which seem to you to
be the most helpful. Keep using those that work for you, and lay aside those that do not. Some
of what follows has empirical support, and some is supported by our own experience as
students and instructors.

Other Links:
For some advice on taking essay exams, see this link.
NEW: How to write a philosophy paper.


1. Generate (and try to answer) your own questions about the material. For
example, look at one of the case studies from a book like Morality Play, (or from recent current
events: http://www.globalethics.org/newsline/), then ask yourself what Aristotle would say
about the case, and why. Or consider other questions, such as this: What would Plato say about
the connection between morality and happiness?; How are the views of Thomas Aquinas
different from Aristotle? How are they the same? Even if the questions you come up with and
answer dont appear on the test, asking and answering them will deepen your understanding of
the ideas weve covered, which will then enable you to do better on the questions that do appear
on the test.


2. Create visuals representing what you read. This could be a picture, a diagram, or
something else that will communicate and help you to understand the ideas present in what you
read. For example, in our class you might draw a picture representing Platos understanding of
the soul and how the three parts should relate to one another, according to him.
http://people.eku.edu/austinm/effectivestudying.htm 10/6/14, 1:07 PM
For examples of this from students:
http://people.eku.edu/williamsf/platoart/soul-image.htm


3. Summarize the information you want to learn. Take the ideas and try to
communicate them in your own words, as much as possible. To understand and be able to work
with ideas using the elements of critical thinking, this is important. Imagine someone asks you
to summarize Platos views about morality based on the readings and discussion in class, and
write down your answer.


4. Annotate the assigned readings. Work with the assigned readings and annotate them
using argumentative verbs and terminology. Write 'thesis' in the margins next to the text's
thesis; '1st arg' next to the author's first argument for her thesis; use other terms like 'reply to
1st arg,' '2nd arg', etc.
5. Reconstruct arguments, differentiating conclusions from premises. This should
be easy if you've done the annotating described above.
6. Chart the contrasts amongst positions by cataloging differences among
arguments' premises and conclusions. Sounds complicated, but here's the idea:
Philosophers sometimes argue for the same conclusion using premises different from those
used by other philosophers. You can argue for a conclusion P by appealing to premises Q and R,
or by appealing to S and T, etc. Remarkably, they sometimes argue for different conclusions
even though they appeal to the same premises. For example, take four prominent articles on the
ethics of abortion: English, Thomson, Marquis, Noonan. Which authors reach similar
conclusions about abortion? Do they do it with the same set of premises or with different
premises? Do any of the others appeal to the same premises but reach different conclusions
from those premises?
7. Put positions in conversation with each other. If you've read philosopher A and
philosopher B on some topic, imagine them debating each other. How would A respond to B's
positions or arguments? How would B respond to A's positions or arguments?


8. When studying a particular argument, summarize the argument, come up with
an objection that might be raised against the argument, and suggest a way that the
argument's author might respond to that objection. When summarizing the argument,
be sure to include all of the premises, not just the conclusion. Do the same when raising an
objection: State the problem you see with the argument and explain why you think it's a
problem. Do your best to explain everything in a way that your friends could understand it, even
if they haven't taken any philosophy classes.


http://people.eku.edu/austinm/effectivestudying.htm 10/6/14, 1:07 PM